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This is an example of another widget you can add to your blog. Sorry about the ads, but you have to pay a monthly fee if you want a widget ad-free.

Here is an example of a widget you can add to your blog.

This is my cute dog Chester when he was a puppy 4 years ago.

Some of This, Some of That

I really enjoy writing in a journal, which I never really do, but always think about what I would be writing if I made it a priority. A blog is a fun and interactive way to keep a journal, or history of what is happening in your life. I have created three other blogs in the past, but I haven't kept them current over the last year. There are many different gadgets and add-ons you can put into your blog. I will try to find some fun ones and add them to this blog. My overall opinion of my experience with blogger.com is that it is fun, easy to post and comment, and a great tool for keeping up with family and friends. You can choose to "follow" blogs to see when they are updated. When you login to Google.com, you can take a quick view of the latest on the blogs you follow.

The "Stats" Tab

The "Stats" tab informs you of the statistics of you blog, for example, how many times your page has been viewed today, yesterday, last month, and all time history.  Also, You can see your page views by operating system and browser. I just created my blog within the last hour and I can see that my blog has been viewed 5 times by Windows OS through the Chrome and Firefox browsers.  You can also see where your audience is from. So far, I have an audience in the U.S. (which is probably me), and an audience in Germany, which makes me a little curious... Here is a photo of a German Castle.

The "Monetize" Option

Personally, I prefer to view family and friends' blogs without ads, but I am sure there are situations where adding ads can help people earn money. That is exactly what the monetizing option is, an agreement with Adsense to display ads on your blog for payment. You apply for an account with Adsense and then, within a week or so, they will start placing ads on your blog. Depending on how often people view your blog affects how much you are paid. The ads will not contain pornographic material and are not supposed to require blog viewers to click on them.  You must give them your home address and phone number in order to receive your payment in the mail.  I applied on June 6, 2011 to open an Adsense account in order to explore how this works.

The Many Options for Designing Your Blog

This is my favorite part of the blog, choosing the background and layout. Blogger.com makes it easy to change change and view your blog design within minutes. You can change it every time you post if you want to.  You might post a photo and not like it very much until you change the background to make the colors on your photo pop. I like this photo of my niece on this background.

Blogger.com Settings

The "Settings" tab is where you can control who can read your blog, the time stamp, and who is allowed to comment on what. Very easy to figure out and an important safety feature.

Just thought I would add an image for interest. Blogging is definitely more fun and appealing when there are images and photos added.